Hawaii governor urged to back Honolulu rail

More than three-fourths of the Hawaii House of
Representatives has signed a pro-rail letter addressed to Gov. Linda Lingle,
urging her to review and accept a Final Environmental Impact Statement for the
proposed $5.5 billion Honolulu urban rail transit project.

The FEIS has yet to be released by the Federal Transit
Administration, but supporters note the project is the only one in the state
that is “shovel ready,” and fear any delay could jeopardize federal funding.

For her part, Gov. Lingle has questioned the cost of the
project, and has also questioned the preference for an elevated urban transit
system, as have critics of the plan, including pro-rail forces arguing that
light rail transit would be a more desirable and cost-efficient option.

Supporters of the current plan say the need to provide
construction jobs to aid the state economy should be a major consideration.